More than 28,000 cattle tested positive for bovine TB or were in close proximity to an animal which contracted it last year

More than 28,000 cattle were slaughtered in England last year as a result of bovine tuberculosis, a rise of 7% on the previous year, official figures show.

A total of 28,284 cattle were slaughtered in 2012 because they tested positive for TB or were a high risk because of close proximity to an infected animal, figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) showed.